News

From left to right: Sens. Jesse Kiehl, D-Juneau; Gary Stevens, R-Kodiak; Mia Costello, R-Anchorage, and Bert Stedman, R-Sitka, speak on the floor of the Alaska Senate on Monday, May 24, 2021, the first day of one of two special sessions called by Gov. Mike Dunleavy. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

Lawmakers: Budget negotiations to begin Wednesday

Buttoning up the budget.

From left to right: Sens. Jesse Kiehl, D-Juneau; Gary Stevens, R-Kodiak; Mia Costello, R-Anchorage, and Bert Stedman, R-Sitka, speak on the floor of the Alaska Senate on Monday, May 24, 2021, the first day of one of two special sessions called by Gov. Mike Dunleavy. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)
COVID-19. (Image courtesy CDC)

State alert level drops to intermediate

The Kenai Peninsula Borough also remains in the intermediate alert division.

COVID-19. (Image courtesy CDC)
File

Heroin overdose deaths increase, officials wonder if it’s pandemic-related

Alaska and other states saw a decrease in opioid overdoses in 2018, an increase in 2019 and then a 165% spike in 2020.

File
This May 2020 photo shows an open sign illuminated on a Juneau business. Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development reports the state has added jobs but has not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels of employment. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire File)

Alaska gains jobs but doesn’t reach pre-pandemic levels

Numbers still lagged what they were before the pandemic, per state report.

This May 2020 photo shows an open sign illuminated on a Juneau business. Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development reports the state has added jobs but has not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels of employment. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire File)
Proclamations from Gov. Mike Dunleavy calling special sessions of the Alaska State Legislature for late May and early August were posted in the otherwise quiet office of the House Clerk on Friday, May 21, 2021. The first special session has started but the Capitol building was quiet as most of the work before lawmakers will take place in committee. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

Special session begins, aims to solve Alaska’s fiscal deficit for good

Get ready in May for August.

Proclamations from Gov. Mike Dunleavy calling special sessions of the Alaska State Legislature for late May and early August were posted in the otherwise quiet office of the House Clerk on Friday, May 21, 2021. The first special session has started but the Capitol building was quiet as most of the work before lawmakers will take place in committee. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)
A sticker given out at a COVID-19 vaccination clinic hosted by the Kenai Fire Department in Kenai, Alaska, is seen on March 13, 2021. (Erin Thompson/Peninsula Clarion)

Vaccination rates climb

As of Friday afternoon, 53.7% of Alaskans 16 and up had received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

A sticker given out at a COVID-19 vaccination clinic hosted by the Kenai Fire Department in Kenai, Alaska, is seen on March 13, 2021. (Erin Thompson/Peninsula Clarion)
A row of skiffs and small boats are moored on Friday, May 21, 2021, at the Homer Harbor in Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)

USCG National Safe Boating Week reinforces new engine cut-off switch laws

The U.S. Coast Guard and Coast Guard Auxiliary hosts National Safe Boating Week

A row of skiffs and small boats are moored on Friday, May 21, 2021, at the Homer Harbor in Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)
Senate President Peter Micciche, R-Soldotna, spoke to reporters in his office on Thursday, May 20, 2021, to discuss next steps after the Senate debated the state budget until just before midnight the night before. Senators voted for a Permanent Fund Dividend of $2,300, the largest in history, but negotiations with the House of Representatives are still to come. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

Senate votes for $2,300 PFD, but the amount could change

It would be the largest PFD in state history.

Senate President Peter Micciche, R-Soldotna, spoke to reporters in his office on Thursday, May 20, 2021, to discuss next steps after the Senate debated the state budget until just before midnight the night before. Senators voted for a Permanent Fund Dividend of $2,300, the largest in history, but negotiations with the House of Representatives are still to come. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)
COVID-19. (Image courtesy CDC)

DHSS reports 1 new COVID death on Wednesday

A Palmer man in his 60s died.

COVID-19. (Image courtesy CDC)
The Alaska State Legislature passed a bill to create a new oversight board for the Alaska Marine Highway System and its ships like the Tazlina, seen here coming into dock at Juneau on May 16, 2020. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

Bill to create new AMHS board heads to governor

It’s been a years-long effort.

The Alaska State Legislature passed a bill to create a new oversight board for the Alaska Marine Highway System and its ships like the Tazlina, seen here coming into dock at Juneau on May 16, 2020. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)
Rep. Tiffany Zulkosky, D-Bethel, urges her colleagues to vote for a bill to have the state recognize the Alaska's 229 already federally recognized tribes on Wednesday, May 19, 2021. The bill was one of dozens heard Wednesday as lawmakers tried to pass as much legislation on the last day of the legislative session. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

Budget debate takes lawmakers into evening

More time for debate.

Rep. Tiffany Zulkosky, D-Bethel, urges her colleagues to vote for a bill to have the state recognize the Alaska's 229 already federally recognized tribes on Wednesday, May 19, 2021. The bill was one of dozens heard Wednesday as lawmakers tried to pass as much legislation on the last day of the legislative session. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)
Blogtrepreneur/Flickr photo

COVID-19 resources not affected by malware attack

COVID-19 vaccine appointment scheduling and the data dashboards can still be accessed through covid19.alaska.gov.

Blogtrepreneur/Flickr photo
COVID-19. (Image courtesy CDC)

4 new COVID deaths reported Tuesday

The state also saw 56 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the statewide total to 66,867.

COVID-19. (Image courtesy CDC)
Supporters of the conservation corps programs established with CARES Act funding last year rallied in front of the Alaska State Capitol on Tuesday, May 18, 2021, to advocate for continued funding. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

Advocates don’t want conservation corps efforts to trail off

Building up trail building.

Supporters of the conservation corps programs established with CARES Act funding last year rallied in front of the Alaska State Capitol on Tuesday, May 18, 2021, to advocate for continued funding. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)
Members of the Senate Finance Committee discussed the state's capital budget bill in a meeting on Monday, May 17, 2021, but it's not clear when it might be debated on the floor. Lawmakers had been pushing to finish the bill before May 19, but a special session from the governor has given them more time. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

With more time, lawmakers take step back on budget

Work to be done.

Members of the Senate Finance Committee discussed the state's capital budget bill in a meeting on Monday, May 17, 2021, but it's not clear when it might be debated on the floor. Lawmakers had been pushing to finish the bill before May 19, but a special session from the governor has given them more time. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)
The entrance to the Peninsula Job Center is seen here in Kenai, Alaska on May 28, 2020. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)

State to stop $300 weekly federal unemployment aid boost

Alaska joins at least 12 other states that have said they will stop providing the extra benefit paid for by the federal government.

The entrance to the Peninsula Job Center is seen here in Kenai, Alaska on May 28, 2020. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)
Peter Segall / Juneau Empire Masks were made optional Friday in the Alaska House of Representatives, but lawmakers are still trying to get their work done. Gov. Mike Dunleavy called two special sessions Thursday, but the proposal was met with mixed reactions.

Lawmakers mixed on governor’s special sessions

A lot of work to do.

Peter Segall / Juneau Empire Masks were made optional Friday in the Alaska House of Representatives, but lawmakers are still trying to get their work done. Gov. Mike Dunleavy called two special sessions Thursday, but the proposal was met with mixed reactions.
COVID-19. (Image courtesy CDC)

1 in 2 Alaskans 16 and older have received at least 1 dose of vaccine

44.16% of residents 16 and older in the Kenai Peninsula Borough had received at least one dose of their COVID-19 vaccine.

COVID-19. (Image courtesy CDC)
Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, gave his annual address to the Alaska State Legislature on May 3, 2021, but some Democratic lawmakers said the speech brought the partisanship of Washington D.C. to Alaska. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

In letter, Alaska Democrats say Sullivan brought D.C. partisanship to Juneau

Not what Alaskans do.

Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, gave his annual address to the Alaska State Legislature on May 3, 2021, but some Democratic lawmakers said the speech brought the partisanship of Washington D.C. to Alaska. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)
Alaska House Speaker Louise Stutes, a Kodiak Republican, looks out on the floor of the Alaska House on Monday, May 10, 2021, in Juneau, Alaska. The Alaska House on Monday resumed debate on a version of the state operating budget. (AP Photo/Becky Bohrer, Pool)

Dunleavy calls 2 special sessions

Dunleavy cited the inability of the Alaska House of Representatives to formally organize until more than one month into the regular session.

Alaska House Speaker Louise Stutes, a Kodiak Republican, looks out on the floor of the Alaska House on Monday, May 10, 2021, in Juneau, Alaska. The Alaska House on Monday resumed debate on a version of the state operating budget. (AP Photo/Becky Bohrer, Pool)